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Foreign Language Learning Games

March 16th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Saturday, March 16, 2013 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Digital Dialects

Age Range: All (with parental supervision)

This website offers a variety of interactive online games that help foreign language learners acquire basic language skills in a relaxed and fun way. Audio files have been incorporated into some of the animations so you can hear the correct pronunciation of the words and sentences.

As explained at the website, you’ll find “The world’s major languages, with a cross-section of languages from diverse regions,” represented including:

  • Arabic
  • Bosnian
  • Cantonese
  • Dutch
  • English
  • Farsi
  • French
  • German
  • Gree
  • Hebrew
  • Hindi
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Maori
  • Norwegian
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Spanish
  • Swahili
  • Turkish
  • Ukrainian
  • Vietnamese
  • And many more!

When you get to the site just click on the language of choice. A new page opens with a selection of games. Some languages have more than others and the menu may include:

  • Animals
  • Clothing
  • Colors
  • Days and Months
  • Food
  • Fruits & Vegetables
  • Numbers
  • Phrases & Greetings
  • Units of Time
  • Verbs
  • Verb Conjugation
  • Vocabulary

Geography games that help familiarize learners with the locations of cities in countries are included for just a few of the major languages.

This is a terrific educational tool to enhance learning foreign languages.

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Foreign Language Hangman, Wordsearch & Crosswords!

January 5th, 2013

Hi! It’s Saturday, January 5, 2013 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

Language Games

Age Range: 9 and up (approximately, with parental supervision; ability to read required)

This ad-supported website offers the opportunity to play online interactive Wordsearch, Crosswords, and Hangman games in a variety of foreign languages to help students learn and practice the language of their choice.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a brief introduction followed by the titles of the three games. Select the language you want to use including:

  • English
  • Espanol (Spanish)
  • Francaise (French)
  • Deutch (German)
  • Italiano (Italian)

Click on the language of choice, and a new page opens where you can play the game. Each game page offers a menu of topics to select from such as:

  • Animals
  • Furniture
  • Transportation
  • Clothes
  • Family
  • The Body
  • Colors
  • Weather
  • Flowers
  • Sports
  • And More!

Select a topic, and the program will automatically generate words in that category to use when playing the game.

Depending on your current skill level, these games can be simple or challenging. This is especially true of the crossword puzzles, where you must be able to read and interpret phrases (clues) to come up with the correct word for the puzzle. You can always check the solutions to self-correct.

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Sing Holiday Songs in Foreign Languages!

December 10th, 2011

Hi! It’s Saturday, December 10, 2011 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
World Wide Christmas

Singing is a fun way to introduce a foreign language. This website offers dozens of holiday songs and carols in English, Spanish, Latin, French, Italian, and German.

When you get to the site, look for the language you prefer. Below it, you’ll find a menu of songs.  Click on a song and a new screens opens where you’ll see the lyrics to the song. In most cases you’ll be able to watch and listen to a video production of the song as well. 

If you’d like to get the lyrics to holiday carols in a wider variety of foreign languages including Korean and Japanese, CLICK HERE.  When you get to the site, you can listen to the tune and click on the foreign language flag to see the lyrics in that language. You’ll find a variety of holiday classics such as:

  • Silent Night
  • Joy to the World
  • Deck the Halls
  • Jingle
  • And many more!

 

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Say “Hello” in Every Lanaguage & More!

April 30th, 2011

Hi!  It’s Saturday, April 30, 2011 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website: Say Hello

Age Range:  All (with parental guidance)

This website, sponsored by the Internet Public Library, cleverly offers the visitor an opportunity tolearn how to say “Hello” in many of the 2,796 languages of the world – everything from Aleut to Zulu.

This is a great place for foreign language beginners to sample various languages to determine which ones they might like to learn how to speak. The format is simple. You click on the language you want to try and a new page opens where you’ll see:

  • The word “Hello” in that language
  • A pronunciation key
  •  Words in English from that language
  • The alphabet of the language
  • Links to free lessons on learning the language – including audio and video files
  • Information about the culture

In addition to the wonderful language resources, you are just a mouse-click away from a virtual field trip to the country where the language you selected is spoken. You’ll see photos, videos, and get encyclopedic information about every aspect of the country – including its history, economy, and tourist attractions.

Some of the languages include:

  • Arabic
  • Cherokee
  • Chinese
  • Finnish 
  • French
  • German
  • Greek
  • Hindi
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Mayan
  • Spanish
  • Swahili
  • Tagalog
  • Zapotec
  • Non-verbal Languages include Braille and Sign Language

Bookmark this site now to return often!

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Spanish for Kids

January 29th, 2011

Hi!  It’s Saturday, January 29, 2011 and time for Foreign Language at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Spanishtown: Spanish for Kids

Age Range: 6-10  (Grades 1 – 4, with parental assistance and supervision)

This Google ad-supported website provides interactive exercises that teach young children Spanish vocabulary from basic to intermediate level. As you do the activities you can listen to the correct pronunciation of the words by a native Spanish speaker.

When you get to the site you’ll see a preview menu by grade level from 1-4. Click on any one and a new page opens with a broader menu of choices that includes activities for learning:
 
*Vocabulary – Learn to say colors, numbers, shapes, parts of the body, animals, methods of transportation, words for family members, weather, clothing, food, holidays, and basic conversational sentences.

*Counting – Learn to say numbers from 1-100 along with some basic math terminology.

*Grammar – Learn to say some verbs in present and past tense. 

To compliment and reinforce the vocabulary you will also find a selection of wordfind puzzles, crosswords and matching activities.

This is not a comprehensive language course. It’s a simple way to introduce learning the Spanish language, or to practice skills that you’ve already acquired. Parents that don’t speak Spanish can learn right alongside their children. 

The site offers downloads to tests, lesson plans and learning sheets for classroom teachers that can be tweaked for use at home. 

NOTE: “Spanish for Kids” is part of a larger website. I did NOT review other parts of the site. The kids’ section requires adult assistance to navigate.  The site has random ads and Google advertisements that if clicked on, will lead to outside websites so PARENTS, AS ALWAYS, SHOULD PREVIEW THE SITE AND SUPERVISE USE.

Enjoy!

 

Diane Flynn Keith
for ClickSchooling
http://www.ClickSchooling.com

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French Games, Lessons, and Activities

December 11th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Saturday, December 11, 2010 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Saber Frances

Age Range: 9 and up (Parental guidance and supervision required.)

This website offers a variety of free lessons, exercises, games and activities to help students learn and practice the French language.  It is designed for a wide variety of ages and ability levels.

FYI:  I didn’t find “About” information for this site, so I don’t know who sponsors it. It does have scrolling Amazon.com advertisements, so there are links to outside sources. Parents, as always, should supervise exploration and use of any sites recommended here. 

The site is written in both English and French (displayed side-by-side), which may help to increase competency as you navigate the site.

When you get to the site you’ll see a menu of activities that include:

*Vocabulary – Learn a wide variety of words needed for conversational French.

*Expressions – Learn some idioms and expressions that are used in conversation.

*Exercises – Practice vocabulary and grammar with interactive worksheets.

*Lecture – Improve your reading comprehension by reading essays in French about French culture.

*Grammar – Learn and practice parts of speech including nouns, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, adjectives, etc.

*Chansons or Songs – Learn French through songs! Watch YouTube videos of songs being sung in French. Sing along with Celine Dion, Charles Aznavour and other celebrities. You’ll also find clips of Disney films like Aladdin, Pocahontas, and The Lion King, with the characters singing the songs in French.

*Jeux or Games – Play Hangman and Wordsearch games to practice and improve your knowledge of French. Fun!

Note: I had some intermittent difficulty with the sound at this website when trying to hear pronunciations of various words or phrases.

The site has something to offer students with varying ranges of ability. If you have young children, I’d head to the “Songs” section first. If your children know some French words they may enjoy playing hangman and wordsearch.  More adept students may want to try the reading comprehension and grammar exercises.

Again, parents, as always, should preview the site and supervise use. 

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